Senate votes to cut military retirement pensions

Not really, military pension has been cut or reformed over time, to make less generous, but more people want to join the military.

The change in pension only affect newer veterans, not retired veterans like Reba and her husband, and my father.
It affects veterans under 62 years old. I'm 62 but TCS is 61. Most veterans who are medically retired from disabilities resulting from the war on terror are under age 62, so it will affect them unless a change is accepted on the bill.
 
20 years to qualify for military pension benefit.

but disabled veterans get severance pay if they are less than 20 years.
If an active duty member retires after 20 years they get the lowest percentage pension. It is increased in increments up to 30 years. They can stay in longer than 30 years but the percentage of pension won't increase. That pension is taxed.

Medically retired veterans with less than 20 years service don't get a severance pay but get retirement pensions. I'm not sure of the formula for calculating the amount. Depending on the type of disability, an equivalent percentage of the retirement pension is not taxed.

Medically discharged veterans get a one-time transition pay out (maybe that's what you meant by severance pay). They don't get a monthly pension.

The difference between the medical categories requires going before lengthy involved medical boards for determination.

Also, for people who are reservists at the time they retire, they don't start collecting their pensions until age 60.
 
...One co-worker told me that if he died while on active, his life insurance (that is available for military service members only) would cover it, not the government. He had to buy the insurance. I said WTF?
That is SGLI (Servicemembers Group Life Insurance). It was created for military members because regular insurance companies wouldn't cover them due to the risk of combat.

The coverage and rates are reasonable.

Coverage
SGLI coverage is available in $50,000 increments up to the maximum of $400,000. Covered members receive 120 days of free coverage from their date of separation. Coverage can be extended for up to two years if the Servicemember is totally disabled at separation. Part-time coverage is also provided to Reserve members who do not qualify for full-time coverage (members covered part-time do not receive 120 days of free coverage).

If you are totally disabled at the time of separation (unable to work), you can apply for the SGLI Disability Extension, which provides free coverage for up to two years from the date of separation. At the end of the extension period, you automatically become eligible for VGLI, subject to premium payments.

Cost/Rates
If you have SGLI coverage, you pay a monthly premium that is automatically deducted from your base pay. The current basic SGLI premium rate is 6.5 cents per $1,000 of insurance. The premium includes an additional $1.00 per month for Traumatic Injury Protection coverage (TSGLI).

Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) - Life Insurance
 
To end corporate welfare effectively means no more Republican Party. They live and breath corporate welfare. They personify it. They live it. They are it. It is a Party of corruption so complete that it staggers the mind to try and wrap all the way around it.

From CBS news 2010:
"While the economy has generally faltered over the past two years, congressional members actually saw their collective personal wealth increase by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to the study, which analyzed financial disclosure data released earlier this year.

As many as 55 members had an average calculated wealth of $10 million or more in 2009, according to the Center.

According to the Center's estimates, the wealthiest member of Congress is Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), whose holdings exceed $303.5 million. Rep Jane Harman (D-Calif.) is close behind with $293.4 million, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) rounds out the top three at $238.8 million.

Members of Congress are only required to report their wealth and liabilities in broad ranges, so the Center calculated each member's average estimated wealth by determining the minimum and maximum value of their assets. Additionally, federal financial disclosures don't require members of Congress to report certain assets such as personal residences.

The list of Congress' wealthiest members is bipartisan. In the House, five Democrats and five Republicans make up the 10 wealthiest members, while in the Senate, six Democrats and four Republicans make up the top 10.

The median wealth of a House member in 2009 stood at $765,010, while the median wealth for a senator in 2009 was nearly $2.38 million.

Members of the House and Senate made investments last year in a number of companies that have a strong presence on Capitol Hill, spending large sums on lobbying efforts and political donations. The most popular company among members of Congress, CRP found, was General Electric, in which 82 current members invested. The second most popular company was Bank of America, which 63 members invested in."

President Obama hired Jeffery Immelt (General Electric Chairman) to head the post of President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

From Forbes.com: "his company (GE) invests some of its resources abroad and, despite worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, paid no taxes in 2010." "GE is a major player in several industries that President Obama has been promoting as part of his administration’s cocksure embrace of industrial policy."

Tim Carney reports in the DC Examiner: First, there’s the policy overlap: Obama wants cap-and-trade, GE wants cap-and-trade. Obama subsidizes embryonic stem-cell research, GE launches an embryonic stem-cell business. Obama calls for rail subsidies, GE hires Linda Daschle [wife of former South Dakota Senator and Obama confidante Tom Dachle] (D-SD) as a rail lobbyist. Obama gives a speeeh, GE employee Chris Matthews feels a thrill up his leg. I could go on. Look at any major Obama policy initiative — healthcare reform, climate-change regulation, embryonic stem-cell research, infrastructure stimulus, electrical transmission smart-grids — and you’ll find GE has set up shop, angling for a way to pocket government handouts, gain business through mandates, or profit from government regulation."

I could list hundreds of like stories on either side. So your statements make no logical sense to me. The government is equally corrupt.
 
From CBS news 2010:
"While the economy has generally faltered over the past two years, congressional members actually saw their collective personal wealth increase by more than 16 percent between 2008 and 2009, according to the study, which analyzed financial disclosure data released earlier this year.

As many as 55 members had an average calculated wealth of $10 million or more in 2009, according to the Center.

According to the Center's estimates, the wealthiest member of Congress is Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), whose holdings exceed $303.5 million. Rep Jane Harman (D-Calif.) is close behind with $293.4 million, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) rounds out the top three at $238.8 million.

Members of Congress are only required to report their wealth and liabilities in broad ranges, so the Center calculated each member's average estimated wealth by determining the minimum and maximum value of their assets. Additionally, federal financial disclosures don't require members of Congress to report certain assets such as personal residences.

The list of Congress' wealthiest members is bipartisan. In the House, five Democrats and five Republicans make up the 10 wealthiest members, while in the Senate, six Democrats and four Republicans make up the top 10.

The median wealth of a House member in 2009 stood at $765,010, while the median wealth for a senator in 2009 was nearly $2.38 million.

Members of the House and Senate made investments last year in a number of companies that have a strong presence on Capitol Hill, spending large sums on lobbying efforts and political donations. The most popular company among members of Congress, CRP found, was General Electric, in which 82 current members invested. The second most popular company was Bank of America, which 63 members invested in."

President Obama hired Jeffery Immelt (General Electric Chairman) to head the post of President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

From Forbes.com: "his company (GE) invests some of its resources abroad and, despite worldwide profits of $14.2 billion, paid no taxes in 2010." "GE is a major player in several industries that President Obama has been promoting as part of his administration’s cocksure embrace of industrial policy."

Tim Carney reports in the DC Examiner: First, there’s the policy overlap: Obama wants cap-and-trade, GE wants cap-and-trade. Obama subsidizes embryonic stem-cell research, GE launches an embryonic stem-cell business. Obama calls for rail subsidies, GE hires Linda Daschle [wife of former South Dakota Senator and Obama confidante Tom Dachle] (D-SD) as a rail lobbyist. Obama gives a speeeh, GE employee Chris Matthews feels a thrill up his leg. I could go on. Look at any major Obama policy initiative — healthcare reform, climate-change regulation, embryonic stem-cell research, infrastructure stimulus, electrical transmission smart-grids — and you’ll find GE has set up shop, angling for a way to pocket government handouts, gain business through mandates, or profit from government regulation."

I could list hundreds of like stories on either side. So your statements make no logical sense to me. The government is equally corrupt.

In bold, as non-conservative, you are not alone and I don't find his statement is logical sense.
 
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